


The Set-Up

by queencvb



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alex doesn't know she's gay yet, Blind Date, F/F, Not angsty - I need everyone to be happy, Set up by Supergirl, Speechless Maggie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24729241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queencvb/pseuds/queencvb
Summary: Supergirl thinks Maggie is perfect for Alex and talks her into a blind date.Alex isn't thrilled about being set up and really doesn't care for dating, but she'd do anything for Kara. Apparently that includes going on a date without knowing the first thing about the other person.
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Maggie Sawyer, Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer
Comments: 23
Kudos: 118





	1. Super Bubbly

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posted fanfic! I read voraciously and I love this pairing. I relate so well with Alex and want her to be happy. :)
> 
> I'm working on the rest of this story but it won't be super long. Also, sorry if the writing style is awkward. I typically write more technical reports, so this is very different for me. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!

The damage done to the Valeria Bank in downtown National City was immense and complete. Maggie Sawyer was especially frustrated because it was completely preventable. She had responded to a call of a suspicious noise complaint and had spent 45 minutes trying to de-escalate a situation with an angry Garko who didn’t understand currency exchange and felt he was cheated. She was so close to having the situation resolved when, in a fit of rage, he emitted a poisonous cloud. Maggie herself was prepared for it, but somebody screamed and before she knew it, in flew Supergirl to “save the day”, slamming the Garko against the building, starting a battle of epic proportions right in the middle of downtown NC. To make matters worse, as soon as the Garko was subdued, he was whisked off in an unmarked black van to, presumably, never be seen again.

Supergirl was just finishing a conversation with a bystander on the street corner as Maggie angrily stormed towards the misguided superhero. The blond turned to face Maggie, no doubt expecting to receive more fawning and praise. _Well._

Maggie was halfway through her rant about following proper protocol, trying to assess a situation and de-escalate before just flying in and putting lives in danger unnecessarily, not to mention getting proper due process for the aliens who –

Suddenly, she was cut off as Supergirl’s stern visage inexplicably turned almost… bubbly? Maggie stood speechless as Supergirl literally squealed and clapped and maybe bounced on her feet. She could not have possibly anticipated Supergirl’s next words to be “are you single?”

“ _What sort of fresh hell is this?_ ” may have run through Maggie’s mind as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t for the life of her think of an appropriate response to Supergirl’s question – her mind raced at the thought of how she needed to build a positive relationship with this superhero with whom her department needed more cooperation, not less despite her own personal misgivings. What could she possible say to strike a balance between being professional and leaving Supergirl in no doubt of her absolute disinterest in wherever she is going with her impertinent question. Unfortunately for her, Maggie felt she had to put her department first and at least strive to find a polite way to respond. _Rein it in, girl._

“As I was saying, I believe aliens should have the same rights regarding due process, representation and not be imprisoned –“ She got a little further in her rant before Supergirl once again cut her off, waving her hands in what she supposed was meant to be a placating manner.

“Yes, yes, of course. We can discuss this all later. But seriously, are you single? Because you would be perfect for my s- special friend!”

“Your special friend? Look Supergirl, I am really not interested. I mean yes, I am single, but I prefer to find dates on my own. Female dates. Women. And it’s hard enough to find someone who understands me and my work as a cop, not to mention working in the Science Division! And, um… no offense to you, ok well maybe a little offense to you, but you aren’t exactly a person I’d trust to set me up.”

Whatever offense Maggie assumed Supergirl would take at that clearly missed the mark, because all she did was get more and more enthusiastic the more Maggie babbled, nodding her head and wringing her hands together like she couldn’t contain her excitement. Maggie was certain she had never seen the blond superhero act anything like this before. Maybe this is an imposter! She seemed like herself when she was fighting as far as Maggie knew, but she appeared to have changed halfway through their conversation. Mentally reviewing all the species she knew with shapeshifting powers distracted her just long enough to miss the beginning of Supergirl’s response.

“…so of course she would totally understand your line of work as a police officer, as well as working with aliens! It’s perfect! Except I don’t think I was supposed to say that. I really wasn’t supposed to say that. Can you not tell anyone I told you that when you fill out the NDAs? I’ll just tell them you made a really good guess and that we’ve needed a good liaison with the Science Division for awhile anyways, so really, this is a win/win!”

 _Well, this just got REALLY interesting_. Maggie is kicking herself for getting distracted and missing the part of the conversation that apparently requires multiple NDAs. Supergirl was still talking and, despite herself and her still lingering anger towards Supergirl and her afternoon, she felt herself lured into the conversation, interest piqued.

“And she’s gorgeous too! Kind of a reddish brown hair – is there a word for that? She looks really intense until you get to know her but she’s really a secret softy who likes to drink wine and take Cosmo quizzes. Ooh! And she sends me pictures of puppies and kittens when she knows I’m having a hard day, but I think she just likes to look at the pictures herself.”

At this point, Maggie is fairly positive Supergirl is the absolute WORST secret keeper ever and is fairly certain if she allows her to keep talking, she’ll know FAR more than whoever this woman is would ever appreciate her knowing. It’s time to end this conversation, and she knows the only way to end it quickly is just to concede. She may be a little curious about who is friendly enough with a superhero to send puppy pictures.

“Ok, ok. You’ve convinced me. How is this going to work?” Her eardrums were not prepared for the high pitched squeal that came at her response.

“Perfect! I know for a fact she was told not to go into work tonight. Are you available tonight? You could meet at Café La Maze at 8:00 and I’ll tell her to bring a red rose. Her name is Alex. Eeeek I’m so excited!”

After finalizing details, Supergirl had to dash and Maggie was left with her head spinning. She probably should’ve asked how they went from Maggie chewing her out to setting up a blind date, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that. Nor did she want to think about the possibility that Supergirl was in love with this woman herself and perhaps just didn’t realize it. She'd worry about that later if they even made it that far.

Back at the precinct, Maggie was halfway through the stack of forms documenting the afternoons events, once again cursing Supergirl in her head, when her Captain approached her desk and asked her to accompany him to his office. After closing the door, he pushed a thick stack of papers towards her. “I just had a brief personal visit with Director Henshaw at the DEO. I have a feeling there’s a very interesting story about how you came to know about the DEO and why Supergirl requested you as the new liaison between us. Would you care to share what on this ever-loving earth happened today?”

Not for the first time that day, Maggie was utterly speechless. Yep, that was a pretty important piece of information she had missed earlier. She had heard whispers about the DEO through her contacts at the bar, but definitely nothing official. Now she and her Captain were discussing it like there was no question it existed. What she had heard was definitely not complimentary though, which coincided with her (very limited) personal knowledge, which was strictly limited to having a gut feeling that nothing good happened when aliens detained by Supergirl were carted away. And apparently now she has a date with someone from the DEO? Yikes. Maggie's curiosity demanded she go, but this would not end well.

Taking her silence as a cue, he continued talking. “We’ve never really had a direct relationship with them before. It has strictly been on a 'need to know' basis, and we’ve never been allowed to work together with them on anything. The fact they are reaching out to us and allowing for a liaison is huge, Maggie. I know your personal feelings about how aliens are treated and you know we’re trying to make changes to how certain matters are handled. I think this could open a lot of doors for us. I’d like an answer within the next few days regarding the position, but regardless, you have a stack of paperwork to fill out as tall as my 12-year-old. I’d recommend grabbing a strong cup of coffee and settling into the small interrogation room to fill this out to keep it out of the public eye.”

“Understood, Sir.”

“And Maggie, whatever you do, don’t mess this up.” And she was summarily dismissed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex was starting to feel a little disgruntled that she hadn't even agreed to go on the date yet, but here she was giving input into what she would or wouldn't wear. How did she even get into this situation? They eventually settled on a sassy black dress (which, more importantly, had enough room to hide a couple blades), did her hair up with a couple kanzashi, and slipped her handgun into her small purse. With a sigh and a hug for Kara, she grabbed the rose and headed out the door.

Helmet? Check.

Jacket? Check.

Keys? Check.

Badge? Check.

1 handgun, 1 alien ray gun, and 4 knives? Check.

Alex was just opening the front door to sneak out of her apartment when she heard the tell-tale sound of wind gushing into her apartment from the direction of her balcony. She tried to back away and close the door silently, but many years of experience told her she would most likely not get away with it.

"Alex, where exactly are you headed with an arsenal of weapons and your badge? I have it on VERY GOOD AUTHORITY you were strictly forbidden to go in tonight.

_Stupid super hearing and x-ray vision._ "I was just going to ride out to the desert base and train for a bit. Definitely no invasions or investigations on my schedule."

"Your badge has been set to activate all alarms if you use it in any location."

"Actually, that sounds like a really good training oppor--"

"You were ordered to actually take a night off. Besides, it's not a training activity if everyone is expecting you to attempt to break in. Do you even remember the last day you had off? Have you even slept in your bed this week?"

Resigned to her fate, Alex sat down on her couch and started pulling off her jacket and boots, setting her weapons aside (or relocating them on her person). Now that she stops to think about it, she's not sure she's slept in her bed this _month_. She's never had a problem with the sleep pods at the DEO, and she likes being on hand given the recent uptick in alien activity. It really is a shame though, because her bed is pretty amazing. So, yeah she could use a little work-life balance. "Fine Kara. I give in. Do you want to do a movie night?"

Kara suddenly looked a strange mix between guilty and very pleased with herself, which was never a good sign. "Ok so I'm enforcing your night off, but I actually told Winn I'd help him build a computer tonight. But you have plans! I found the perfect date for you!"

_No. No No No._ Alex could just feel the pressure start to build behind her eyes. "Kara, I hate dating. You of all people know this. Why did you think that would be how I'd want to spend my night off? And also, YOU are helping WINN build a computer?"

"Well ok I won't be actually helping that much. He said he needed me for welding little wiry bits to a green lego board. I'm not sure how that makes a computer but I've learned to just aim and shoot and not ask any questions to save myself hours of explanations I do not want to hear. Seriously, please Rao save my poor bleeding ears from hearing anything else about circuit beavers and motherships."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at that and agree that with Winn, it's much better to just smile and nod (or, you know, in Kara's case aim and shoot).

"But anyways, Alex, back to your date. Seriously, I know how much you've struggled with dating in the past and I know how much you hate it. But I don't think there's a better match for you. It's a detective with the NCPD Science Division and we worked on a case today. She actually chewed me out pretty good about protocol and property damage, but I couldn't help but think what a perfect match it'd be for you! So anyways, you need to be at Cafe La Maze at 8:00 holding a rose. Oh! I forgot the rose! I'll be right back!"

Before Alex could even blink, Kara had left and come back holding a perfect red rose. She put it on the table and quickly led Alex back into her bedroom to find the perfect outfit for a date. Alex was starting to feel a little disgruntled that she hadn't even agreed to go on the date yet, but here she was giving input into what she would or wouldn't wear. How did she even get into this situation? They eventually settled on a sassy black dress (which, more importantly, had enough room to hide a couple blades), did her hair up with a couple kanzashi, and slipped her handgun into her small purse. With a sigh and a hug for Kara, she grabbed the rose and headed out the door.

_______________________

At 5 minutes to 8, Alex entered the small cafe and found a table in the back corner where she could have a view of the whole room. She grudgingly put the rose on her table, making herself visible to whomever her date was, and ordered a drink from a passing waiter while she put down her purse and jacket. Now that she had half a second outside Kara's whirlwind to think, she realized she knew next to nothing about her date. Kara said he works in the NCPD Science Division as a detective, but she honestly hasn't paid that much attention to them. In general, she finds the NCPD to be incompetent, trigger-happy and narrow-minded. Not to mention, how much exactly does he know? Does she talk about the FBI or the DEO? Presumably she can mention aliens, but maybe it's safer to say she works as a lab technician and make him zone out with overly complicated scientific explanations until he gets up and leaves. _Actually, not a bad idea. Then I can tell Kara I tried, go home and relax by myself._

After a few minutes of letting her thoughts marinate, she heard the door to cafe open and saw (objectively) the most beautiful woman in the multiverse. Alex had met Miss Universe on a security detail and, let's just say she had nothing on whoever this woman was. The woman looked over in Alex's direction and Alex jerked her head down to focus on her menu and tried to look like she hadn't just been staring at the newcomer. Ironically, she started hoping her date would show up soon to put her out of her awkward misery. She was so intently focused on her menu (and on pretending she didn't exist), she was startled when the chair in front of her was pulled out. Alex glanced up and saw the woman from before, now with a slight smirk on her face. If Alex had thought she was beautiful before, seeing her up close was... (objectively) breathtaking. Just as she started to wonder if someone could be objectively breathtaking, she was snapped out of her thoughts by the woman asking for her name and if she was sent by Supergirl.

"Um... my um... I'm Alex. Alex Danvers, FBI. You didn't need to know that. Well, you did, but not like that. Not like a professional introduction. A personal one. Alex. Just Alex. Danvers." There were two thoughts fighting for first place in her internal monologue: _Please make me stop talking_ and _I'm going to KILL Kara._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, Maggie was a little impressed Alex could lie about her job so convincingly even in the middle of a clear gay panic, but imagines it took some rather unpleasant training to ingrain that into her so much. She has to admit to herself she’s more than a little flattered and amused at Alex’s reaction to her arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been carrying notes on a scrap piece of paper everywhere I go for over a month, even sleeping with them in my pocket. And of course, when I actually got around to typing it out, they disappeared. I think I'll actually kinda miss having them with me.
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

Maggie pulled up in front of the café 15 minutes early so she could scope out the place. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Supergirl, but Maggie likes to scope things out and do her own lead work. The café looks nice, but she started second guessing not telling anyone where she’d be. Not that she has anyone here to tell anyways. Being the token non-straight Latina female on the force is isolating and lonely, but what good was her entire childhood if not to prepare her for this? Brushing her maudlin thoughts aside, she slipped into a nearby alley to scope out the café and neighborhood. While she surveyed her surroundings, she pulled out her pocket notebook to go over her notes about tonight. This may be a blind date, but she didn’t want to get caught off guard. She knew Alex had some kind of relationship with Supergirl (TBD what kind), she sends pictures of kitties and puppies to Supergirl, she’s a DEO agent in some capacity, intense, gorgeous, and most likely a workaholic. It’s not a ton to go off of, but Maggie’s gone into a lot of situations with way less information, so it’ll do.

Just as she lifted her eyes from her notebook, she saw a cab pull up and a stunning auburn-haired woman stepped out. Maggie’s thoughts are brought to an abrupt halt as she appraises the woman headed inside the café. She vaguely recalled Supergirl saying her “special friend” was beautiful and had reddish-brown hair and Maggie prayed on all that was holy this woman was who she was meeting. She never thought she really had a “type” – she tried to keep an open mind about looks, styles and even species and home planets. From what she saw and what she heard before coming, Maggie decided she’d have to rethink that.

Maggie looked at her phone and realized it was time, so she made her way inside the café and turned to look around. Towards the back, she spotted the auburn-haired woman just in time to see her duck down and focus intently on what appeared to be the menu. Upon seeing the rose in front of the woman, Maggie is pretty confident this is Alex and started to make her way towards her table in the back. She had never felt like luck was on her side, but tonight was evidence that perhaps the tides have turned. Alex still appeared to be pretty invested in studying the menu, so Maggie pulled the chair out at the table to get her attention. Although she was positive she was at the right table, she figured it would be a good conversation starter to confirm that this girl was actually the friend Supergirl had set her up with.

To be honest, Maggie was a little impressed Alex could lie about her job so convincingly even in the middle of a clear gay panic, but imagines it took some rather unpleasant training to ingrain that into her so much. She has to admit to herself she’s more than a little flattered and amused at Alex’s reaction to her arrival. Leaning forward toward Alex, she whispered “however convincing you are, let’s not start this out with lies and secrets between us”. Alex honest-to-goodness startled out of her chair, but before Maggie could stifle her snicker, she suddenly found herself with a knife pressed to her gut, Alex standing next to her discreetly blocking her threat from curious onlookers. The detective had rarely been more glad for her ability to maintain a cool head during a threat than she was now, when she heard Alex growl out a question about what she knew. Realizing she hadn’t even introduced herself and Supergirl hardly knew enough about her to give any sort of background, Maggie realized she needed to de-escalate and doing a little explaining. She couldn’t deny she was strongly attracted to the fiercely dangerous agent she just got a small glimpse of.

“Perhaps I should give you my professional introduction. I’m Maggie Sawyer, Detective with the NCPD Science Division. I spent about a year and a half of my life filling out NDAs for your “organization” after Supergirl let it slip while we were talking about this date. Apparently I’m your new liaison with the NCPD.”

Alex appeared to relax after that as she withdrew her knife and sat back down, although she bowed her head and folded her body in as if she looked ashamed of herself and wildly out of her comfort zone. Maggie took this as her cue to take a seat as well. This was certainly unlike any other date she’d ever been on, blind or not. “I realized just now that Supergirl may not have had much information to give you and I should’ve known with your training you’d be on edge. Can we start over again so we can actually get to know each other?”

Alex looked up at this and in a slightly shaky voice asked “you still want to? I mean, I haven’t ruined it? You’re not just here to get information on Supergirl or my job?”

Maggie started to offer assurances that she is interested in getting to know Alex and _really_ wasn’t put off by the aggressive display of protection when their waiter came and took their orders. She could tell Alex was still on edge a bit, probably for multiple reasons, so Maggie just started talking. Normally she didn’t talk about herself, but she wanted Alex to know there wasn’t anything to be afraid of from her. She spun a tail about growing up in Nebraska (glossing completely over her family), living with a friend (no need to mention the rented couch) in Gotham, getting accepted into the police academy and the force, and her realization that she couldn’t stay there with the rampant corruption without trying to do anything (definitely not mentioning the attempts made on her life that drove her out). It had been a good change for her moving to National City. Everyone seemed to think she’d be overwhelmed or grossed out by working with aliens, and she herself wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but she found throughout her new position that she felt a deep kinship with (most of) the aliens she worked with and felt more fulfilled in her job than she had ever imagined.

After telling a story about going undercover and having to convincingly pull off being an alien, Alex finally appeared to be comfortable enough to join in the conversation and ask questions. She even offered her own undercover story of a very unfortunate date with Maxwell Lord. Soon enough, they were swapping bizarre and terrifying stories, weirdest and most endearing alien species, favorite weapons or self defense techniques, and Maggie was blown away when Alex nonchalantly mentioned that her sparring partner is in fact Supergirl. Alex looked the most relaxed she had been all night and seemed to relish being able to talk about her job without hedging or telling outright lies. Maggie knew she shouldn’t, she really knew she shouldn’t but… well, she’s a curious cat.

“So wouldn’t it be awkward sparring with Supergirl? Or do you guys go easy on each other?”

“What? Why would it be awkward? She learned all of her fighting moves from me, so I definitely don’t go easy on her and she’s never once beaten me so she has nothing to be gained from going easy on me either.”

“I just mean it seems like she has feelings for you so I wondered if that ever made things seem off.”

“Supergirl? No. Definitely no. Nope. No. No.”

“Maybe I read that wrong. She just seemed very invested in your happiness. She became a literal baby kangaroo the minute she thought of you.”

“Ah that… that’s uh. We’re not. No.”

“This isn’t some Kryptonian mating ritual or something is it? I know not much is known about adult relationships but you’re not… I don’t even know.”

“Honestly, Maggie, I swear it isn’t anything like that. I know we talked about no lies or secrets between us, but Supergirl’s identity is her own so I can’t say anything about that. But I promise it’s not anything like that between us. Never has and never will be.”

Remembering back to her first conversation with Supergirl that started all this and how Alex sends the superhero pictures of baby animals to cheer her up, Maggie decided to let it slide. They are probably more like best friends, and Maggie gets really annoyed when people don’t believe her that queer women can be friends without a romantic attachment. Just as she opened her mouth to apologize, Alex glanced out the window and dropped quickly to the ground, motioning for her to follow. She watched as Alex pulled out her cell phone and shot off a message, then pulled out 2 guns, one of which was like nothing Maggie had ever seen before, and slid the regular handgun towards Maggie.

“Since I can’t seem to have one normal date without something happening, would you like to try a practice run of being our liaison?”

Noticing that Alex was feeling a little bad about her job taking over their date, Maggie tried to put her at ease with a smirk.

“I brought my own gun.”


End file.
